The silence that followed was palpable.

I knew the prophecy sounded nonsensical. It seemed like Ian was teasing me with such a statement.

“…?”

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside.

Jamon, sensing something amiss, gave a quick instruction to a nearby maid.

After a brief exit, the maid returned with news.

“Countess Dias’ daughter has fallen from a tree. Medical staff are on their way.”

“Ah, Amelia, you mean?” 

Irmin immediately mentioned a name without hesitation.

“Amelia?”

“Yes, she’s a young lady who has been following Jamon around recently.”

Irmin kindly responded to Kabir’s question.

I looked at Jamon and confidently smiled.

“See, it’s true.”

“Countess Dias and I have no such relationship.”

“Nevertheless, someone did fall.”

“….”

“Ha-ha, Camilla, you really are entertaining.”

Irmin seemed to take everything in stride, laughing it off.

“Alright! The day Jamon and Amelia get engaged, I’ll believe your words.”

That meant he would believe me much later.

Ian should have given me a prophecy with immediate proof. A prophecy that would take ages to fulfill was utterly useless.

“What about me? Don’t I have a fated partner?”

Irmin seemed just to be enjoying the moment.

I glanced at the chat window and relayed exactly what Ian had written.

“His Highness already has someone he likes.”

“….”

Irmin’s expression froze momentarily.

Kabir and Jamon reacted to this.

“Is it true?”

“It seems so.”

Despite their comments, Irmin remained silent, simply averting his gaze.

“Who might that be?”

“…I won’t tell.”

“She’s going to be the future empress. I should know.”

“It’s not like that yet! An empress, really!”

Irmin protested, his cheeks flushing. I had never seen him so flustered before.

“How did you know?”

“As I said, I can communicate directly with Lady Venecia.”

“So… was that earlier statement also true?”

It seemed like Irmin was finally believing me.

He was quite shocked that I knew about his secret crush, probably because he hadn’t told anyone.

Kabir still seemed skeptical, but Irmin, perhaps out of curiosity, kept bombarding me with questions.

“What was our relationship in the past? Who were you?”

“I can’t tell you who I was, but…”

I met Kabir’s gaze.

“Your Grace and I were quite good friends.”

“….”

Kabir didn’t respond. He seemed surprised.

“He had another friend besides me…”

Irmin appeared shocked, a revelation in its own right given Kabir’s typically reserved nature.

‘It seems he’s mellowed a bit.’

Comparing my first encounter with Kabir as Anais to my first as Camilla, the differences were stark. Perhaps it was because I appeared as a child now.

Kabir, now more serious, asked me,

“Why don’t we remember you? Even if you died, we should have memories.”

“I asked for it. For the sake of those who would be left behind.”

That was a lie. It was just following the rules.

“What about Jamon?”

Irmin asked casually.

“We were engaged.”

“What?”

“Of course, it didn’t last long. It was mutual. We got along well. Nemoh was cute too.”

Jamon looked dumbfounded. Seeing his expression, he seemed to believe my words to some extent. There was a naïve side to him after all.

“What about me?”

Irmin sent an expectant look.

My relationship with Irmin when I was Anais was…

“….”

“….”

Silence lingered.

I couldn’t remember anything significant between Irmin and me.

“A friend of a friend…?”

“We weren’t that close, huh….”

That was accurate.

“When do I ascend to the emperorship?”

“When will the western monsters be dealt with?”

“Will this issue be resolved successfully?”

“I’m not a fortune-teller, you know.”

These people. Asking for free prophecies as if it were a test, or whether they believed it, it was just absurd.

* * *

Now that Hans was living at the Heyward Duke’s estate, my visits became more frequent.

“Aren’t you wasting scrolls?”

Hans asked that frequently. I had always bought scrolls with points to visit him. Of course, it was a secret from Kabir. I’d visit Hans, chat a bit, and when a servant came looking, I’d return home.

“I don’t have anywhere else to use them, so.”

I didn’t need to save anymore, so I was spending freely.

Hans tilted his head, puzzled.

“What about stats? You said there are many features.”

“Ah.”

I had momentarily forgotten.

There were so many features I requested that I sometimes forgot.

I opened the stat window. As expected, my current stats were dismal.

“To use teleportation magic, I’d need at least level 6 in the magic stat.”

“What’s the max level?”

“10.”

“And now?”

“Obviously 0.”

“Better start saving those points.”

“Sure.”

Hans seemed regretful he couldn’t contribute points anymore since he had to use his leave. 

“By the way, who’s managing now?”

“You’re asking now?”

Hans replied sarcastically. I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.

“Ian.”

I kind of expected it. No one else but Ian could handle the role as well as Hans did.

“Isn’t Ian doing too much? Venecia and now manager.”

“Who knows, he chose it.”

If it was his own decision, there’s not much I can do. It’s ironic that Ian, the biggest troublemaker in the past, is now handling the manager role.

‘He must have grown up.’

I felt unexpectedly warm-hearted. It seemed he finally matured.

“Since it’s like this, should we start a broadcast?”

I turned on the broadcast to collect some points.

[OnlyFinley: Jiha hi]

[MadelineTastesGood: hi]

[Gold2: Hans is there too]

“Just turned it on because I was bored.”

[OnlyFinley: If you’re bored, let’s visit Eric. Eric, Eric, Eric, Eric, Eric.]

[Poppopo: I do miss him, it’s been a while.]

Recently, Eric’s name kept coming up whenever I started a broadcast, especially after meeting Kabir.

‘It’s a bit hard to ignore when the viewers are insisting.’

[Gold2: You keep looking for Eric and forget about Finley, lol]

[OnlyFinley: Finley must be doing fine, but Eric’s situation is unknown]

[PleaseShakeACarrot: Got a point]

Finley’s news was easily accessible. Currently, he had ascended to a duke and was living a comfortable life.

However, news about Eric was hard to come by. Unless I saw it with my own eyes.

‘Since I don’t have much to do today anyway.’

Being a child before academy entrance meant having absolutely nothing to do. Even more leisurely than when I was Anais.

I made up my mind and stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll visit Eric and come back.”

“Oh, I won’t join.”

“Got it.”

I decided to go alone, leaving Hans behind.

* * *

Following the directions Ian gave me, I walked.

Even though he quit being a knight, Eric hadn’t left the Heyward estate. He was living in the town center.

‘The village has improved a lot.’

It had grown significantly since the last time I visited. An academy had even been established, further increasing the village’s size.

It was a testament to the safety of the Heyward estate and how much effort Kabir had put into managing it.

“Found it.”

Eric’s house was a quaint two-story building.

I took a deep breath. The cold air made my breath visible.

“Who’s there?”

The person who answered was a girl with braided hair, appearing to be in her mid-teens.

‘It must be Eric’s sister.’

I recognized her immediately upon seeing her face.

The little girl I remembered had grown up so much and now closely resembled Eric.

I think her name was Anna. She looked puzzled at first upon seeing me but then smiled warmly and met my gaze.

“You’re adorable―what brings you here?”

Being called cute by a child I once took care of felt strangely bittersweet.

“Is there a knight named Eric here?”

“Oh, my brother? He’s not a knight, but yes.”

“I’d like to meet him if possible. Is that okay?”

“He’s out right now… but come in!”

Maybe because I looked like a child, Anna didn’t hesitate much to invite me into their home.

The house was filled with a warm atmosphere. The crackling sound from the fireplace was comforting.

True to Eric’s nature, the interior was immaculate. Though small, it had everything necessary for two people to live comfortably.

Anna seated me at the dining table and brought out some warm tea.

“Here, drink this.”

“Thank you.”

“So, why are you looking for my brother? Do you know him?”

“Um…”

I pondered for a moment.

Such lies were not difficult for me; I was used to making up stories in my past life as Anais.

“Your brother once saved me from a monster attack. I came to say thank you.”

“Oh― the monster incident.”

Anna’s immediate understanding surprised me.

“The monster incident?”